Customer Success: Service vs. Servitude

Customer Success: Service vs. Servitude

According to research from Forrester, customer experience is a top priority for businesses and technology leaders. However, a “customer obsession” operating model does not automatically lead to success, especially as it relates to the channel. Customers will never say, “you’ve done enough” or “we should pay you more for that.” Making sure customers have the support they need, without that level of support eroding your margins, requires careful balance. Giving way to servitude rather than an exact amount of service that fulfills your customers’ needs can land you, and your partners, in a doom loop of requests and ‘favors’ that negatively impact business. Customer-First Service Historically we’ve been taught that effective service puts the customer first. Those words still hold true, but in a completely different way. Rather than having sales reps and support professionals jumping through hoops to satisfy customer requests, today’s highest performing service organizations first rely on customers to help themselves. In the 2015 State of Service survey from Salesforce, self-service is a key trend that sets high-performing service organizations apart. According to the 2015 State of Service Report from Salesforce, customers have three simple expectations: Know me. The personnel in your company who interact with customers on a regular basis need to know how your product solutions are uniquely applied for the customers they are interacting with at any given moment. When a customer does “raise their hand” for help or guidance, there is an understanding of the business problem the customer is trying to solve…
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